Grace Crunican, BART chief, would meet protesters

Published 4:00 am, Monday, September 19, 2011

Protestors confront police at the Embarcadero station during a BART protest in San Francisco, Calif., Monday, August 29, 2011.

Protestors confront police at the Embarcadero station during a BART protest in San Francisco, Calif., Monday, August 29, 2011.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

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An anonymous protestor leads a chant during a BART protest at the Civic Center station in San Francisco, Calif., Monday, August 29, 2011.

An anonymous protestor leads a chant during a BART protest at the Civic Center station in San Francisco, Calif., Monday, August 29, 2011.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

Grace Crunican, BART chief, would meet protesters

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BART's new general manager, Grace Crunican, is reaching out to meet with just about everyone - including protesters who have been wreaking havoc on the system for the past two months.

"I am open to meeting with anybody who wants to meet with me - protesters included," Crunican tells us.

In fact, she said her assistant has started to contact interested parties such as the ACLU in hopes of arranging a meeting where they can air whatever grievances they might have.

After just a week on the job, Crunican says she's still getting her feet on the ground. But already she says the district has tried to make it clear that demonstrators "have a right to protest - and we understand that - as long as customers can keep coming and going and service can be provided."

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Whether protesters or their advocates such as the ACLU are actually interested in sitting down with the new general manager wasn't immediately clear.

The protests began over the fatal shooting of a homeless man armed with a knife on the platform of Civic Center Station. The protests took on a second life over the issue of free speech when BART cut off cell phone service at four downtown stations in an effort to thwart the initial disruptions.

Crunican is also making time to meet with BART directors, community groups and commuters. She personally greeted riders at three stations during the morning commute this past week and plans to hit more stations in the weeks ahead.

The feedback so far: "Customers like the service ... feel safe on the system and think fares are fairly reasonable," she said. But they also gave her complaints about everything from a long-broken escalator at the Embarcadero Station to issues of cleanliness in some areas of the system.

By the way, Crunican will be paid $300,000 a year - slightly less than her predecessor, Dorothy Dugger. However, she is also eligible for a $20,000 yearly performance bonus, plus she got an $18,000 moving allowance.

And if things don't work out between Crunican and her new BART board bosses?

She's entitled to a full year of severance pay.

Fine line: Despite falling revenues, new Muni head Ed Reiskintells us he has no intention of asking for a hike in parking ticket fines.

"It was an idea that some people thought we should explore, but it's not something I'm intending to recommend," Reiskin tells us.

The push to hike parking fines - which at $65 for overstaying at a downtown meter are already among the highest in the nation - was the result of a two-part whammy.

First, fewer tickets are being issued, resulting in $7 million less than expected in fines.

Then there was Sacramento's demand for an extra $3 per ticket to help out the state's court system, resulting in an additional $3 million loss.

Add in a $24 million budget gap for Muni and you have the usual recipe for a ticket hike.

But not this time.

"I think we've pretty much hit the limit both on tickets and fare increases," Reiskin said.

And that's how it stands for now - we'll see how it goes after the election.

In a word: Despite the behind-the-scenes objections of Mayor JeanQuan, City Council members Larry Reidand Ignacio De La Fuente are going forward with their call for a curfew for Oakland teens.

Quan - who has called for a summit on fighting crime - is instead looking at reworking the city's loitering law.

Pak said Herrera had no problem with the $1.6 billion subway project as long as he thought she and her Chinatown allies would be endorsing him for mayor. It wasn't until Pak & Co. instead got behind Mayor Ed Lee- leaving Herreraout in the cold - that he decided to make the big dig a big issue, she said.

Herrera campaign spokesman Matt Dorseysaid the real issue is the skyrocketing cost of the new line, but added it would be "inappropriate" for the candidate himself to directly respond to Pak's allegation.

"I wouldn't expect that if I was going to say something that I would demand a response from Ed Lee," he said.

Electrifying: A sleek new Chinese-made electric bus just rolled into Muni's Woods Division maintenance shop this past week for a trial run.

Very impressive, and with a battery that can keep it rolling for up to three hours.

Alas, the bus just couldn't generate enough power to make it up San Francisco's steep hills - and the manufacturer sent the bus packing to Chicago, with its decidedly flatter routes.

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Phil can be seen on CBS-5 morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815 or e-mail matierandross@sf chronicle.com.

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